


Run Rudolph Run

by robotsnchicks



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Jokes, Case Fic, Crack, Gen, Mild Gore, Monster of the Week, Reindeer, Team Free Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13052826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotsnchicks/pseuds/robotsnchicks
Summary: When reindeer start turning up dead in Southern California, it doesn't seem like much of a case. But before the night is over, they'll discover an unlikely foe, and an even more improbable ally.





	Run Rudolph Run

**Author's Note:**

> First, thank you to [braezenkitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/braezenkitty/pseuds/braezenkitty) for the fast beta!
> 
> This is set vaguely in season 6, but can be considered canon-divergent. 
> 
> And a quick warning- this is a case fic concerning dead reindeer, but no reindeer are harmed during the fic. There are only previous deaths and injuries that occurred off screen.

The strains of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and the wails of small children alert Dean to their destination more readily than the caution tape slung along the enclosure. Two elves try to entice the distraught boys and girls into making ornaments for the tree, but most of the kids seem too upset to notice. Dean feels bad for the frazzled looking parents and is glad he’ll be on his way shortly.

He looks up at the cheerful sign proclaiming they have entered the zoo’s “Reindeer Village” and grunts. “Remind me again why we're here, Sam? Since when do we investigate reindeer deaths?”

A trio of parents turn and glare at Dean in unison. He winces in apology and takes a step away from the small crowd outside the closed attraction.

Sam follows him, lowering his voice. “Look, we've got nothing else going on and if it’s a werewolf then we need to check it out.”

Dean nods as he scans the parents and children milling about. “Yeah. He’s probably a few cans short of a six-pack if he’s breaking into a zoo just to eat some reindeer hearts.” 

Dean finally sees someone in a LA Zoo uniform exit the enclosure. He walks up to the woman and introduces himself. “Fish and Wildlife service. Agent Ford, and my partner over there is Agent Hamill.”

She shakes his hand and looks at him in surprise. “I thought I knew everyone at the local office. Are you two new?”

“Yeah, just transferred in.” He nods to the closed doors of the pavilion. “Are the, uh, reindeer still in there?”

She glances around and then holds something out to him in lieu of answering. “Here, put this on the Christmas tree. The children are looking this way.”

Dean looks at the thing and almost drops it. He’s not sure what it’s supposed to be but it looks like a freaking kidney. It’s still damp from what he hopes is glue. He quickly hangs it on the tree and then wipes his hand on his pants. “So, uh, about the reindeer?”

“They’re still inside for now. We have a truck waiting around the corner, but we’re waiting until the kids move along.” She hangs another misshapen ornament on the tree. “We obviously don’t want them to realize what happened.” 

“Gotcha. We’ll just take a quick look and get out of your hair in the meantime then.”

She looks as though she wants to argue, but one of the mothers grabs her arm and starts asking her about a refund for their zoo tickets. 

Dean tosses the employee a quick thumbs up and wades back into the crowd to look for Sam. When he catches sight of him, Dean grins. He lets his brother squirm for a moment longer before rescuing him from the attentions of an overly handsy Mrs. Claus.

When they step inside, the putrid smell of spilled entrails is overwhelming. It’s unseasonably hot, even for Southern California, and Dean wonders who had the bright idea to have a reindeer exhibit this far south anyway. 

All three of the animals have been disemboweled in the same way, and it’s clear their hearts are missing. It’s just like the other two reindeer they checked out at a Santa’s Village in San Bernardino. It still doesn’t make sense though. “What type of—” Dean looks around to make sure they’re still alone, “werewolf goes around killing reindeer?”

Sam shrugs. “I guess one with something against Christmas?” He rubs the back of his neck and frowns. “You’re right though. It doesn’t make sense. If it’s a werewolf it’s gotta be a purebred, but I can’t figure out why they’d specifically be after reindeer hearts. They wouldn’t need this many this quickly either.”

They split up to see if there’s any evidence they missed at first glance. Dean’s boots squelch in the combination of sticky blood and damp soil. Flies crawl over everything and when he steps on a length of intestine it pops under the pressure, adding the smell of warm shit to the melange. He’s made it about halfway around the enclosure when Sam calls him over.

“Hey, check this out.” Sam points to a large hoof print in the mud near the watering trough. 

Dean squats down and takes a closer look. “What am I looking at, Sam? One of those reindeer was a pretty big guy, looks like it could have been his.” 

“Not this big, this thing’s huge. There’s another one too.” Sam leads Dean a few yards down and gestures to yet another hoof print. “This one _definitely_ isn’t a reindeer print. It’s too big and too rounded.” 

“Huh.” Now as Dean looks closer he can easily tell that this print doesn't match the rest that are scattered around the yard. “Well, what do you think it is?”

Sam deflates a bit. “I have no idea, but I guess it gives us something else to look into.”

“Maybe. My money's still on some whack-a-doo werewolf with a hard on for Santa. Oh wait, I got it.” He nudges Sam with his elbow. “Maybe his grandma got run over by a reindeer.”

Sam doesn't respond, but he does flash bitchface number six which is almost better.

They stop by the zoo’s infirmary on the way out and chat with the veterinarian on duty. The guy has little to tell them, but he does confirm that there was no chance a wild animal got into the enclosure. They assure him that they’ll make the case a priority and head to the motel.

A few hours worth of research turns up little. Dean considers sending out a prayer to Cas, but he figures he'll wait. With no human deaths yet it's not the type of thing he wants to bug the angel about right now.

They find one more account of reindeer mutilations in the last few weeks, also at a Christmas themed location. As much as Dean hates to admit it, so far all the evidence points to it being holiday related. None of the local reindeer farms have been affected, only the reindeer at holiday attractions. 

They’re left with two more possible locations for the werewolf, or whatever is killing the reindeer, to hit. Since one of those is Disneyland, they decide to focus on the other location, another imaginatively titled “Christmas Village” near Mt. San Antonio. Dean reluctantly agrees to a stakeout. They’ve already paid for the room so they may as well stick around town a bit longer.

They pull up an hour after the place closes. Once they're sure that all the staff have gone home, they climb over the chest high fence. The security of the place isn't exactly stellar. 

Dean spends the next few hours raiding the snack bar and checking out the park's attractions. From what he can tell, Sam spends the entire time petting the reindeer. The reason why they took this case is becoming more clear by the moment. He makes a couple of jibes about Sam finally meeting the rest of the family, but saves the rest of the jokes he comes up with for future use.

After a few hours of wandering around, Dean is wishing the thing would just show up already. He's glad they're in California though, and not somewhere reindeer are actually endemic. It’s almost too warm for his jacket.

As if to spite him, an eerie chill suddenly falls over the park. His breath fogs in the air as he hustles over to the reindeer’s enclosure where Sam and most of the weapons should be waiting. He moves to a full out run when he hears the sound of hooves pounding the ground and Sam shouting.

When he arrives he's isn't quite sure what he sees. It's definitely not a werewolf though. The dark shaggy creature stalks along on its goat-like hind legs while the reindeer run and leap about wildly. Small snowflakes swirl around the creature, dampening the dirt floor. Sam crouches in the corner, trying to aim his gun while avoiding the frantic reindeer.

Dean bangs on the fence as he runs in. “Hey ugly! Turn around!” 

The creature snaps its attention to Dean, showing a glimpse of red slitted eyes and a snarling mouth. Dean doesn't get a chance to see much else before the first bullets hit it. 

It spins around and lets out a guttural snarl, but the bullets themselves seems to do nothing but make the monster mad. “Silver isn't working!” Sam calls out unnecessarily.

The reindeer are fully panicking now and Dean sprains his elbow when he dives out of their way. He pulls out his own gun and fires off a quick shot, but normal bullets seem to be just as useless. He circles around the monster keeping his gun trained on it regardless. “Any idea what we're dealing with here?”

“Only one idea and you're not gonna like it.” Sam grabs a vial of something and throws it but it also seems to have no effect. “I know we discounted it before, but goat like features, cloven hooves, anti-Christmas…”

“Spit it out, Sam!” The monster lunges for one of the reindeer and it skitters sideways, kicking Dean and sending searing pain through him. He falls to the ground, almost certain that his knee is busted. Again. “Castiel, I hope you've got your ears on, cause I'm getting my ass kicked by Santa's reindeer.”

He hears Cas flap in and then Cas and Sam both speak at once. “That’s Krampus.” 

Dean’s left sputtering as Cas pulls his angel blade out and moves in front of him. Before he can do anything though, yet another party shows up. 

Dean looks at the newcomer and wonders if he hit his head without realizing it. Because he’s pretty sure that Rudolph the Fucking Red Nosed Reindeer just leapt over the fence and is standing in front of him.

He’s easily twice the size of the other reindeer so Dean’s pretty sure nobody’s about to call him any names. His antlers are bone white and come to lethal points. The kicker though is the nose and eyes, both of which glow a fierce red in the foggy night.

Krampus takes advantage of the distraction and seizes one of the reindeer. It bellows as he holds it up by one clawed hand. Before he can attack though, Rudolph is there. He rears up and strikes at Krampus with hooves that flash in the moonlight.

Krampus is forced to drop the terrified reindeer and it quickly scrambles away. The two creatures circle each other, seemingly uninterested in the rest of them.

Sam makes his way to the gate and opens it, trying to usher out the frightened reindeer. Dean goes to help, but his leg gives way as soon as he tries to stand. 

Cas catches him before his knees hit the ground and presses his fingers to Dean's forehead. Dean takes a step back and shakes off the residual sparks from the healing. “Thanks man.”

Cas nods and turns back to the brawl in front of them, brandishing his blade again. It's already almost over though.

Krampus is limping and bleeding heavily as he stumbles along the hay strewn floor. His forked tongue tumbles out with each wet gasp and his right hoof drags behind him. 

Rudolph's antlers are stained with dark blood and there's a slash on his side, but other than that he looks fine. He circles the flagging beast patiently and when Krampus stumbles, Rudolph wastes no time.

There's an audible tearing sound as his massive antlers spear all the way through the other creature’s body. Rudolph lifts his head and shakes. Streaks of red light cross the landscape and there's a wet plop as a large chunk of Krampus slides free.

Rudolph shakes again and the rest of the monster slides free. He immediately dashes forward and Dean thinks he's going to smash right into the fence, but at the last second the reindeer leaps into the air, easily clearing the enclosure.

Right. Rudolph can fly.

There's a loud crash as one of the escaped reindeer knocks over a trash can. It reminds Dean that someone's probably on the way to investigate after all the nose. 

He looks around with a grimace. As much as Dean appreciates the bizarre assist, he wishes Rudolph had done something with Krampus’ body. He turns to Cas. “So can we just salt and burn this fucker?”

“Yes, that should be fine. It's been many years since tributes were offered to Krampus. A normal salt and burn should suffice.”

Sam perks up at that, walking closer. “Whoa, are you saying Krampus was another pagan deity?” 

Dean can already feel the epic nerdfest that’s about to happen. “Okay, hold up guys. I guarantee you some nosy neighbor is on the way, so chop, chop. Besides, I'm starving. Let's finish up here and then hit up that Denny's we passed on the way in.” 

Sam mutters something about Dean already pigging out in the snackbar but he still walks over to their bag and pulls out the lighter fluid and rock salt.

Dean turns to Cas and claps him on the shoulder. “Thanks for coming man, even if Bambi stole your thunder.” He continues before Cas can interject. “Why don't you stick around and grab some coffee with us? You can tell us more about what just happened on the way.”

Cas hesitates but finally nods his head. “I can spare an hour or two.”

“Great! Now let's get rid of this ugly son of a bitch.”

Krampus lights up like Betty White's birthday cake and is soon nothing but a pile of stinking ash. Trying to get the reindeer back inside is a bitch though. Every time they get near the enclosure they seem to catch a whiff of Krampus’ remains and panic again. Cas is finally forced to zap them back inside, a use of his powers that leaves him unamused.

By the time they pull up to the restaurant it's midnight. Their clothes are torn and muddy, and they probably reek, but since it's Denny's their waitress barely gives them a second glance. She brings them coffee and drops off a stack of menus before vanishing back to the kitchen.

“So what about Santa? Is he real then?” Sam asks once the waitress walks away.

Cas frowns. “Don't be ridiculous, Sam. Of course not.” 

Dean rolls his eyes and bumps Cas’ foot under the table. “Oh, so Santa is ridiculous but Rudolph the freaking Red Nose Reindeer isn't?”

Castiel takes a sip of his coffee, then returns to simply holding it in his hands. “Her name isn't actually Rudolph, that's a mistranslation of—”

“ _Her_?” When Cas nods, Dean leans back in the booth with a sigh. “I thought Angels were pretty out there but now I find out not only is Rudolph real, but he's a friggin’ girl. Things just keep getting weirder.” 

Sam snorts. “Next thing you know we'll be fighting dinosaurs.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Now, if you read my other Christmas fic, you may be confused about why ugly ornaments and Denny's were in both. Well that can all be blamed on [SPN Coldest Hits!](http://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/) I originally wrote [Mermen and Mistletoe](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12946665) for the challenge, but decided it was too fluffy, so I came up with this monstrosity instead.
> 
> Check out the challenge and join us next time! And feel free to say hello to me on [tumblr.](https://robotsnchicks.tumblr.com/) I promise I don't always write about reindeer guts.


End file.
